— Photo courtesy Standard Lithium
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Standard Lithium Ltd. (“Standard Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSXV:SLL) (OTCQX:STLHF) (FRA:S5L) is pleased to provide an update of the extensive process testing work and pilot plant design being performed by the Company’s Scientific Advisory Team. The Scientific Advisory Team and other technology vendors have been testing raw lithium brines from Standard Lithium’s Projects in California and Arkansas using a new generation of lithium-selective sorbent technologies. Data gathered from mini-pilot scale testing has demonstrated highly-effective separation of lithium from other cations in the raw brine, in line with previously published and peer-reviewed studies, and has also demonstrated that the solid sorbent materials can be simply made using standard commercial manufacturing processes. Work has also been completed to test varying physical methods by which raw brine can be mixed with the lithium-selective material to optimise lithium removal. Testing is ongoing and will be used in the full-scale pilot design.
Standard Lithium is also pleased to announce that they have engaged Zeton Inc. to design and build the full-scale continuous pilot plant for deployment in southern Arkansas. Zeton Inc. is based in Burlington, Ontario, and is the largest designer and builder of modular pilot/demo scale plants in the world, having completed over 800 projects in over 35 countries. Design basis engineering has commenced, and it is expected that construction of the various modules will commence in the second half of 2018.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Andy Robinson, commented, “Standard’s Scientific Advisory Team has been extremely busy over the last six months developing and adapting existing brine processing technologies to integrate modern lithium-selective technologies; both constructing new mini-pilot scale facilities, as well as working with other third-party technology vendors. We’re now in a position where we have demonstrated proof-of-concept for these technologies and can optimise process flowsheets for the Arkansas and California lithium brines. We’re also delighted to be working with the team at Zeton Inc. and benefitting from their huge depth of experience when it comes to designing and building continuously operated, fully integrated modular Pilot Plants. In order to effectively manage the Pilot Plant design and build process, we’ve also added significant senior engineering bench strength to Standard’s team, and we look forward to providing more information on the Pilot Plant progress and flowsheet performance as we move through 2018.”
Standard Lithium CEO, Robert Mintak, commented, “The agreements and business relationships Standard Lithium has struck over the past year have allowed us to fast-track our development timeline. Securing projects with existing permitted brine producers has allowed us access to bulk volumes of raw brine from both of our project areas to conduct process work. Our approach is to intelligently use existing technologies as much as possible and apply project-specific innovations where appropriate; this way, we are not trying to force a technology on the project, but rather to allow the project fundamentals to define the flowsheet.”
Dr. Ron Molnar, Professional Metallurgical Engineer (Ontario P.E.# 100111288), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Molnar is independent of the Company.
Standard’s value creation strategy encompasses acquiring a diverse and highly prospective portfolio of large-scale domestic brine resources, led by an innovative and results-oriented management team with a strong focus on technical skills and modern brine processing technologies. The Company is currently engaged in the exploration and resource development of the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Project located in the Mojave region of San Bernardino County, California; the location has significant infrastructure in-place, with easy road and rail access, abundant electricity and water sources, and is already permitted for extensive brine extraction and processing activities. The Company is also rapidly conducting resource evaluation on up to 33,000 acres of brine leases located in the Smackover Formation in Southern Arkansas.
Standard Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture under the trading symbol “SLL”; quoted on the OTCQX under the symbol “STLHF”; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “S5L”. Please visit the Company’s website at www.standardlithium.com.
For further information, contact Anthony Alvaro at (604) 240-4793
On behalf of the Board,
Standard Lithium Ltd.
Robert Mintak, CEO & Director
